Monday, August 19, 2013

Painted House Reveal

Hello all! School has started up again. In fact, today was the first day of school. (First day of school! First day of school! First day of school!) All of a sudden, I am in fall mode and am dreaming of decorating for Christmas... I tend to skip right over Halloween and Thanksgiving, which Todd says I am not allowed to do. But back to what this post is supposed to be about!

Ever since I bought our house, I have wanted to give the exterior an update. People were always confused when I told them our house was peach. Yes. Peach. NOT your typical house color. Before the summer started, Todd and I had enough money saved up to get the front of the house painted because I did not want to tackle this by myself. Plus, we don't even own a ladder! Luckily, our friend Joe, is a licensed contractor and gladly accepted the job!

You all may remember my post a few months ago where I was debating colors. Dark gray? Light gray? Taupe? So many options! Well, as you can see from the above photo, we went with a neutral light gray called Granite Boulder by Behr. I painted the trim myself with a bright white exterior paint. (Thanks Johanna for the ladder!) I am so pleased with how it turned out!

As for the door, I am still thinking about colors. I am really leaning towards a light avocado green. I think it will look fresh and clean against the gray. Plus, the green door will give everyone a hint of the color palette of the rest of the house. :)

I also need to address our screen door. I don't like the look of it but we use it too much to get rid of it. (And we don't want to buy a whole new one. Why replace something that's not broken?) Maybe painting it the same color as the door? With black hardware?

Whoa. That picture was kind of blurry.

And a couple other things around the door need sprucing up. Like our mailbox.

Why are mailboxes so darn expensive? I am thinking of just removing the golden bird thing and screwing in a cute knob. And while I'm at it, I might just spray polyurethane the whole knob so the metals don't rust.

And our lovely doormat. Now here is where I need some advice.

So there used to be butterflies on it but they got worn off pretty quick. I got this rug on sale two years ago. Is it normal to replace rugs every couple of years? Are there any types of rugs that you recommend? I don't like how this kind of rug tracks little brown fibers inside the house. Or how it never dries and leaves nasty, stale water sitting underneath it for days after it rains.

But back to the reveal...

So last spring, Todd's dad came up and helped me with some landscaping. We bought new plants, mulch, borders and a gorgeous porch light. We placed all the plants in an L shape around the front of the house. Unfortunately, the plants furthest away from the house got too much sun and started to wilt. This summer, I dug them all up and moved them closer to the house. Success!

Todd also helped me add in $25 worth of plants that I picked up at Lowes for 50% off. They were all out of season and wilted and brown but they were all perennials! Score! So they will come back next year. Right now my front garden looks like a total dead mess but I promise (and I hope!) they will all come back next spring and summer in full bloom.

Here is what is planted right now:

Are you liking the blue, white and yellow theme? :) I am thinking the color palette will really pop against our new house color. And the color palette also flows with our interior. Whatever rooms are not green and yellow are blue and yellow. Or a combination of green, blue and yellow. Such happy, cheery colors!

Other plants I have are Black Eyed Susans, White Lily of the Valley, two types of Hostas, Succulents and some trailing leafy thing.

I still have a couple plants and flowers on my "Garden Wishlist" either for this house in future years or our next house.

And I really, really want to replace our plastic garden border. It served us well for a year as a temporary solution but I would LOVE some medium sized river rocks. Anyone know where to get those cheap or preferably free?

10 comments:

WOOHOO! ... CLAPPING, CLAPPING, CLAPPING!!! Bravo, Todd and Lindsey! What a beautiful finale to the facade of the house! You two have done so Much this summer and this new paint job makes coming home from school, that much sweeter! The color scheme is the perfect combination and it all looks very fresh and clean. The garden is so much prettier and I like how you have broadened the boarders of it! I love the hose idea too, Lindsey and the stencil idea on the cement is a very creative solution. I shall leave the door color up to you as you seem to be making all the right choices anyway but as for the door mat, I shall recommend the kind that I have which is large black rubber mat that is perforated with holes that I bought from the Home Depot! It is very durable and the debris falls into the holes which are about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter. It is effective all year long in snow and rain and I have had mine for years and it still looks very good. The black color would sit nicely and tie in with the color of your shutters which now,look fantastic. Although, you haven't asked, I would like to mention that usually the stores have their outdoor urns on sale after summer and I could see a substantial one out on your front stoop. If you planted a small evergreen shrub, you could have some color and you could decorate it for Christmas or any other season. And it is portable so if you do move, it could come with you. To me you both are more and more amazing at how clever you are at achieving KILLER design on just a few dimes! Well done!

The house color is fantastic!!! Just so gorgeous! Great shade for sure! And all of your plant selections are spot on!!! I for sure would get the yarrow...one of my favorites and if you trim that guy back when he goes brown in early August he will rebloom! As for the door mat thing...mine got all yucky too and I can not for see myself continuously replacing it so I went with one of those rubber ones that has a scroll pattern to it. Good job here lady...and good luck with school!!!!

Hello Lindsey,I love it! Terrific color choice. It really breathes new life into the building and it makes the white pop. I think the avocado door would be a wonderful touch and look very grand. I think I would also consider the green on the screen door. It will be beautiful and with all the great ideas you have for the accessories...lovely! The garden is really lovely as well. You have done a stellar job. The house must be so happy!Big hug,Giac

Love the house color, Lindsey! Beautiful plantings too! I prefer a black rubber doormat. You can knock the mud off your feet at the door, they don't rot or track brown bits, and they last forever. I'm so happy with the black rubber doormats I finally got. And there are fashionable ones too, in pretty designs, or you can go traditional--lots of options in black rubber now. ;-) xo Jennifer

I LOVE the gray and white with the black!!! Before you even mentioned a green door, I was thinking green too. I would lean toward painting the screen door too. A kelly green would be nice too and SW bamboo shoot is interesting.

Can you put a bench out there? It looks like it is going to be a sweet place to sit!

River rock can be bought from a rock quarry. If you have not visited one, they have rock samples layed out in plots. It's pretty inexpensive if you spread it yourself, but they do charge to deliver. It doesn't look like it would be much; they will tell you how to calculate it yourself. They sell it in bags around here for small spots, but that still would be a lot of bags for that spot, so it might be better to get it delivered. Though from the photo, I think you are looking at small boulders and it's amazing what they weigh!

that new paint looks so stinkin' good, and so do all your flowers. so i'm weighing in on the rug-you have a coir rug, and they do track in all those fibers, so now I avoid them no matter how cute the design. i get mine either at target or lowes or home depot, and i usually use them for a year in the high traffic area, and i get a few more out of the other door since we use it less. but seriously, for 11 dollars or so, why not get a new one every year. it's a small price for nice impact.